Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, September 3, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
We are Babylon. Rome. Empire. And when we collapse, all the “merchants of the earth” will weep and mourn, because they can no longer sell us their iPhones and Rolexes and Lexuses and mansions and yachts and personal spacecraft and designer clothes sewn by children in sweatshops and cheap knock-offs of absolutely everything and electronics or appliances designed to malfunction within two years so we have to replace them and all manner of material goods produced by nearly-slaves—human lives—to possess, amass, hoard, and then have to house in the massive proliferation of storage units, like so many “bigger barns,” sprawled across the countryside. Babylon, Rome, Empire, the U.S.—“whores” to other gods, namely money, power, and fame—we need to be brought low by God, called into account for our wickedness.
But in the mean time, each of us in our own, small way, can work to undermine the wickedness. I’m a vegetarian now, eschewing the products of farming practices that cause deep harm to the earth. I’m one person—does my choice not to eat meat have an impact? Certainly not to bring down the empire and deprive the merchants of their slavish followers. But if enough people follow suit, who knows? It’s a great time to dig into your various communities and talk about ways to resist together, however humbly.
How can I broach discussions among my various communities to find ways to act counter to our culture of money-worship?
